kiesha09

So is the kitten staying? It looks like Pia would like to keep her

My parents have had a real tree all my life and none of the dogs were done any harm by it. I now have a fake tree and my problem is the decorations. Always end up with the top half decorated and the bottom half undecorated. Between the dogs and my little nieces they LOVE pulling everything off that is reachable. Then my niece would often decorate it with 'toast' so the dog would try to pull the branches off to get the toast. Then there are the presents! No harm ever seems to come to them but they ALWAYS get hidden. In the bathroom, under the bed, in the back yard, under the couch etc. I wish I could get into his little brain to find out why

I think she needs to have a REALLY hard look at herself and if she is ready to give this dog all that it needs. If she isn't prepared to put in the effort and look after her dog then she should maybe look at rehoming him. It's just not fair on the dog or you really. My dogs live between 2 different houses - mine and my bf's and they are perfectly fine. They adapt well to the different houses and the different sets of rules. At bf's house they aren't allowed on the couch so they don't get on it whereas at mine they do. So I don't think the problem lies in moving them around to different places as they are all very adaptable. The problem lies in the fact that the relationship is breaking down between her and the dog because she isn't ever around. She needs to take responsibility for this and own up to the fact that this is why her dogs behaviour is becoming not acceptable. So she needs to do something about it. I understand the dog was a gift but if she wasn't up to the responsibility of having the dog she should not have accepted it. Good luck having the conversation with your friend!

This just cracked me up! I have tears in my eyes Me too! It's my favourite of the thread so far. But there are some absolute awesome photos on here.

Geez it's just like telling someone their kid is ugly, you just don't do it!

Nothing was said to scare them off? There were no of the usual "just don't" responses that these topics usually get. I don't think anybody jumped to conclusions either. I asked for photos, colour and age... I.e seeked more information as you suggested :D Oh, and Invited them to the Boxer forum Sorry misunderstanding here - Boxagirl you were particularly inviting and thats why I ETA that I wasn't having a go at you, because having used your quote it could have come across like that.

I don't think peoples responses were particularly inviting. Everyone jumped on the registered, pedigree bit pretty quick! Who knows maybe her boxers were registered and now they'be been scared off which is a shame since they could have learnt so much. Perhaps in future we should seek some more information first before jumping to conclusions, particularily for newbies. ETA: boxagirl not having a go at you or anyone else for that matter just suggesting a more tactful approach in the future.

I don't walk mine before work either and it doesn't seem to bother them in the slightest. They have their routine.... get woken up and forced to get out of crate, sleepily stroll down hallway and pushed out the door into the backyard, pee with eyes closed, get let back in, walk to bed in lounge half asleep, go back to sleep. Get woken up again (argh!), given kong, eat kong as mum walks out the door, finish kong and go back to sleep. Get woken up AGAIN (8-10 hrs later) by the garage roller door, WOOHOOOO PARTY TIMMMEEEE MUMS HOME!!!!!!!!, Go to park and run, get home do some training, get fed, cahse each other, play with mum, flake it again around 9.30pm. Oh I wish I had their life....

Please tell me he actually has a waterproof trouser suit. And if so.. pictures? Oh yes, but he won't be needing over here that's for sure One trouser suit, with thick fleece pj's underneath for warmth :D How does he pee?

I'll second this!!!!!!!!! Stubborn little sh*ts Although I do love mine :D (when he listens)

My two have a doggy door but I doubt they use it during the day because all they do is sleep. On occasions I need to lock them inside (lawn mowever man coming etc) and they hold on for 10ish hours. Also they will always hold on for as long as it takes for me to get up in the mornings. If I take them out at 10.30pm before bed they'll wait until its 6am, 9am, 11am, 3pm whatever time until I take them out. So I figure htey can hold on for a fair while.

Unfortunately if they are on your dog they are in the rest of your house too (if the dog is an inside one). Most probably just in the egg or larvae stage waiting to hatch.

:p :p ;) ;)

One of mine walks hers too :D Everyone always laughs at her when they see it, me included

My boy loves to go out and sunbathe on the tiles in the middle of summer. He lies on his back with his little pink belly exposed. He once got himself so badly burnt it blistered. So he now has to stay inside during the day and if he does have access to outside he is slathered with sunscreen!

He has absolutely no idea. Has he ever even met a clicker trainer. For example I am a purely positive clicker trainer and know alot of others too. One of the main aspects of it is about leadership, particularly by implementing programs like NILF. Therefore his quote below is rubbish!!!!

This is a a rather sweeping blanket statement ... also somewhat unhelpful given the OP's original request for advice ... 1. DOL is set up as a forum for owners of pure bred dogs (as recognised by the ANKC), but discussion of non-ANKC recognised dogs is permitted so long as posters do not breach forum rules. I note that in your comment you've referred to a forum for cross-breed owners and then you've said that decent advice wasn't forthcoming because pure breed breeders are the ones putting in the hard yards. While a lot of valuable information here comes from conscientious and reputable breeders - a lot of good advice on this forum also comes from conscientious and responsible owners and in those circumstances, the dog's pedigree (or lack thereof) shouldn't really be a factor. 2. I'd agree that cross bred dogs raised in puppy farms in appalling conditions can be health-compromised (but that goes for any dog raised in a puppy farm). I'd also agree that indiscriminate backyard breeding can also lead to sub-optimal health in dogs but I don't think it's necessarily the case that cross-bred dogs are always or even mostly less healthy than their pedigree counterparts. A conversation with the various people working at my local veterinary office (all of whom are very experienced) has confirmed that while there is no 100% rule - there are many healthy cross breeds out there. I'm not going to talk about statistics comparing pure to non-pure, I just want to say that there are a lot of healthy cross breeds out there who are functional, fit and healthy. When I was having a discussion with the Working Kelpie Council, they mentioned that the border collie/Kelpie cross was a relatively popular cross that was quite successful for the function for which it was crossbred. I'm not endorsing the crossbreeding, I'm just disputing that crossbreeds are necessarily not as fit, healthy and "functional". 3. A "purebred" label alone does not equal quality of dog. You've just referred to a "pure bred breeder" and all this means is that the breeder breeds pure breeds purebred dogs, not that they are an ethical and conscientious and carry out basic testing. I'm not even going to say 'registered' because in my view, registration doesn't mean anything except that the breeder satisfied registration requirements. A purebred breeder could be a puppy farmer or a BYB so long as they're breeding purebred dogs. Nonetheless, I'm assuming by the context of your remark that you are referring to a reputable and ethical breeder. Even in those cases, while the likelihood of the dog being "fit, healthy and functional" should be higher, there can be no guarantees. Just look at this forum - the majority of dogs here will be pure bred dogs but there are the full range of health/temperament issues. Some of these can be chalked up to environment or owner, but some of these come down to the dogs themselves. At the end of the day, dogs are animals and not robots or clones so there is still an element of chance even though the odds should be slightly better if the breeder is ethical and conscientious. I'm not trying to push cross breeds or bash purebreds. I own one of each and both are lovely, healthy, have beautiful temperaments and I love them dearly. I owned my cross breed first and I think I put as much time, love, effort, money and thought into looking after my crossbreed as many purebred owners. I guess just think it's a bit unhelpful to be spouting messages that imply that it serves someone right because they got a cross breed after they've already got the dog. There are many, many people who only start learning about dogs after they get their dog - I'm one of these people. What was helpful to me was people who were willing to give me advice since I already had the mutt ... Yes, for my second dog we opted to go for a pure bred dog whose breeder was recommended by the appropriate registration authority because there was a lot of sense in getting a dog that had a more predictable temperament but that was because there were enough owners of pure bred dogs here who were kind, helpful and instructive ... Also, I know that this is the internet, this is a public form and I'm not the DOL police and that people can say whatever they like and people can be as rude as they like (given the faux-bravery given by Net Anonymity) and that people should consider themselves fair game when they post here BUT as this is an internet forum and I'm also entitled to express my view, I will say that I just wish (and yes this is just a vain wish with no mandatory force behind it) that people could be nicer and kinder when people are genuinely looking for advice ... Some threads are fair game for debate but other threads are a genuine plea for help. If you're not feeling helpful and you think that the person is unworthy of your time and knowledge because of the sort of dog they own, then it's just as easy to skip the thread and spend your time elsewhere rather than getting a kick in... Leave others to at least try to be helpful.

Don't worry I didn't get it either... still don't actually :D but then I haven't read Harry Potter.

I've asked my vet about this before because I had 4 tablets left that were out of date. He said it was fine to use them and I did and the dogs were fine. But I would check with your vet if I were you to make sure regarding the brand you have. I'm also not very good at sticking to used by dates

Yep its certainly only the boy in my household! That'll teach me... girls rule!!!!

:laugh: I get that a few times a day and my boy is only 5.... oh dear!

The only time my guys get the aircon is when I am at home and enjoying it But my whole house is tiled so they happily lay starfish on those because they are cool, they get frozen kongs, iceblocks in their water and a wading pool outside. Then they go an sunbake in the sun in 40 degree heat and get sunburnt

So would you not let them off lead at all outside the home while training the recall? I don't want to create a situation where when he eventually does get let off lead he thinks 'wooohhoooo I'm free!!!!!!!!' so I don't really want it to be a novel thing but I do want first time, every time!